Kneehigh’s Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs) is a tale of immorality and depravity. In search of absolute power, the business tycoon Mr Peachum hires the contract killer Macheath to murder Mayor Goodman. Macheath shoots Goodman and as, a precaution, Goodman’s dog too. However, when Mr Peachum’s daughter Pretty Polly marries Macheath, it is revealed that the whole town is interconnected in a web of deceit and debauchery. Corruption reigns when Peachum is elected as mayor and sets out to reinstate the death penalty.
Known for their striking visual imagery, Kneehigh stripped bare the stage of the West Yorkshire Playhouse. The bones of a set were constructed using a large scaffold, providing a high level up above for Peachum and the disreputable PC Lockit to stakeout the mysterious Macheath, albeit unsuccessfully. Connected to the upper level by a slide, the lower level of the scaffold exposed the inner workings of the production, allowing the audience to see through to the racks of costumes upstage, where the multi-rolling company would transform into different characters.
Dead Dog in a Suitcase was playfully Brechtian. At the end of the first act a member of the company spoke directly to the audience and announced that there would be a fifteen-minute interval, before giggling and swiftly correcting themselves to say that it was in fact a twenty-minute interval. The company made no attempt to pretend that what was happening on stage was realistic, instead using symbolic props like a red handkerchief to represent the splattering of blood caused by Macheath. This created a sense of fantastical innocence to the production, despite its dark underlying themes.
It is not surprising that after over a year of touring, the production was extremely quick paced and slick. Dominic Marsh, who played the killer-heartthrob Macheath, skilfully moved his way around the stage. Despite the exposed backstage area, he still managed to appear out of nowhere, like a true stealthy assassin.
The play is a modern reworking of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera. Ever progressive, Kneehigh chose to stay true to this musical form but revised it into a jukebox of modern styles. The live cast of actor-musicians performed a mixture of folk, ska, dubstep and trip hop, with each character taking ownership of a particular genre. It was surreal and comic, truly reflecting the twisted nature of the society presented to us on stage.
Kneehigh’s production was witty, fast and darkly comic. The tale of immorality was interceded by some rather unsubtle attempts at political comment, for example a song which repeatedly told the audience that we ‘all have a noose around our neck’. Despite this, the both the visual and musical spectacle of the show created captivating theatrical escapism that was a pleasure to watch.
Faye Lawrence
Image: Steve Tanner